Chapter 13 The Perfect Wife
Krystal returned to the table where Damion was waiting. She didn’t sit—she just grabbed a cocktail, ripped out the straw, and downed it in one go.
“Where were you?” Damian asked. “You took a while. Did something happen?”
She shook her head, frowning. "Nothing. Just... something annoying. Don’t worry about it."
Damian gave her a brief nod, setting his own glass down. “Since you’re starting at Bristen soon, how about I take you to the hospital now? You can get familiar with the place. It’ll make things easier later.”
“Sure,” she replied quickly, too eager to get out of this place. “Let’s go.”
She dropped the empty cocktail glass on the table. Damian led the way out of the bar, and they headed straight to the hospital. He walked her through the departments, from the wards to his office, pointing out important areas and even a few discreet shortcuts.
“I’m glad to have you here,” he said as they returned to his office.
“Me too.” She smiled. “I might even learn a thing or two from my senior.” She glanced at him playfully, making him smile.
Just then, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and muttered, "Give me a second."
The voice on the other end said something, and Damian’s face changed. He hung up quickly. “I need to leave. Something urgent came up.”
“That’s fine,” she said right away. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll look around a bit and head home.”
He nodded, gave her a quick smile, and hurried off. “Looking forward to working with you.”
Then he was gone.
Krystal walked out of his office and roamed through the corridors for a while, taking in the hospital facilities. After some time, she turned back toward the entrance to leave, but a voice behind her froze her in place.
"Stay right there."
She turned and saw Esther standing with her arms folded tightly across her chest, glaring down at her.
"What?" Krystal asked dryly.
“I need to talk to you. Alone,” Esther said stiffly, already turning and walking away.
Krystal didn’t want to get into any drama, but curiosity tugged at her.
She followed Esther, who led her down the stairs and toward the hospital’s small open-air café. They took seats across from each other. Esther didn’t stop glaring—not for a second—as she crossed her arms again.
“You’re here to see Lorenzo, aren’t you?” Esther asked in a calm voice that barely masked her rage.
Krystal folded her arms and leaned back in the chair, cool and composed, meeting Esther’s glare head-on without blinking.
That only made Esther seethe harder. Her voice snapped with anger as she leaned forward. “Didn’t you two already divorce? Why are you still clinging to him? Shameless!”
Krystal’s voice remained calm. “We haven’t divorced yet. I’m still his wife.” Her eyes swept over Esther in a cold, degrading once-over. “Maybe take a look at yourself before throwing shade.”
Esther’s jaw tightened. “So what? Lorenzo and I knew each other before you married him! If I hadn’t been sick, I’d already be his wife.”
Krystal cocked her head, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips. “Really? Since when did you ‘know’ him?”
“Way before you ever met him!” Esther blurted, her voice rising. “Two years ago I saw him in a car at Blue Orchid—”
She stopped mid-sentence, lips slamming shut, eyes flickering in panic. Her head turned away as if she could physically rewind her words.
Krystal caught it. Her smirk deepened, a slow breath escaping her lungs. ‘So she was at Blue Orchid around the same time I slept with him? I knew she was connected to what happened two years ago.’
“What were you doing at Blue Orchid back then?” Krystal asked, raising a brow.
“That’s between him and me,” Esther snapped, trying to recover, straightening in her seat and tossing Krystal an annoyed look. “Lorenzo said the moment he divorces you, he’s marrying me.”
Krystal laughed softly under her breath. “Alright then. I’ll wait for that day.”
Esther’s smug smile faltered.
“As long as I don’t divorce him,” Krystal added calmly, rising to her feet and grabbing her bag, “you’ll always be the side chick.”
She turned to leave.
Esther, who’d been riding high on confidence just moments ago, completely snapped.
“You arrogant bitch!” she hissed, slamming her hands on the table. “How dare you talk to me like that?!”
Just then, her eyes spotted Lorenzo walking past the restaurant, heading toward the hospital wing. He was supposed to meet Esther later that evening.
Without missing a beat, Esther grabbed the hot coffee on the table and dumped it all over herself. ‘Thank God I already told Jim to erase the footage if I needed to do something dramatic,’ she thought, grinning to herself.
Krystal blinked in surprise but didn’t move, watching the whole act with a blank stare.
Esther bolted toward Lorenzo, turning her head to the side like she couldn’t see where she was going. She bumped straight into him, gasping.
“Aah!” she cried out.
Lorenzo instinctively caught her before she fell. His brow furrowed as he looked down. “Esther?”
She looked up, eyes wide and teary. “Lorenzo? It’s you?” she breathed, her voice trembling.
“What happened?” he asked, concern in his voice. “Are you alright?”
She instantly burst into loud sobs. “Lorenzo, please—help me. It hurts. I don’t feel well,” she cried.
He steadied her and gently said, “Talk to me. What happened?”
Esther threw a fearful glance back at the table where Krystal still stood. “It’s nothing,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Really, it’s nothing. I was just being emotional.”
Lorenzo followed her gaze. His eyes landed on Krystal.
Esther saw his eyes shift and immediately leaned in, voice soft and broken. “I couldn’t stay there any longer. I’m sorry—I just couldn’t take it. It burns,” she whispered, pointing to the coffee dripping down her clothes. “It hurts.”
Krystal rolled her eyes, clearly done with the drama. She started to walk past them. But Lorenzo reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Aren’t you going to explain this?”
Esther’s eyes widened with outrage. The man she thought would defend her—was questioning her instead.
“I didn’t lie to you!” she shouted. “I get it—your ex-wife hates me. But does that give her the right to throw scalding drinks at me just because she can’t stand seeing me with you?”
She shot Krystal a venomous glare and jerked Lorenzo’s hand off her arm. “You sure know how to comfort your mistress, don’t you? She shows up crying, and the first thing you do is interrogate me?”
“She’s not my mistress,” Lorenzo said, his tone dropping deeper, his brows pulled together in frustration.
“Sure, whatever,” Krystal scoffed. “I don’t care about your personal mess. Just keep your crazy women away from me.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened. His grip on Krystal’s arm tightened for a moment before he pulled her in closer, anger flashing in his eyes.
“What’s with this attitude?” he said sharply. “Why are you talking to me like this?”
Krystal yanked her arm free, breathing hard. “You’re grabbing me because some other woman played victim. What kind of reaction did you expect?”
Lorenzo took a deep breath, then pulled her gently by the shoulder.
“Krystal, she’s not like you,” he said, his voice low, “You’re understanding.
Kind. You know how to handle things without turning everything into a war.
But she’s dealing with a serious medical condition.
If you treat her harshly, the stress could harm her more. ”
Krystal’s eyes went cold.
“I’ve been your wife for two years, Lorenzo Moretti!
” she snapped, her voice cracking with anger and disbelief.
“I gave you everything—everything you asked for, everything I had. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let you humiliate me now.
” Her voice trembled with restrained fury.
“I get it. She’s the one you love. In your eyes, she’s the most fragile woman to ever exist. But she’s not as innocent as you think. ”
She paused, breathing hard. “Even two years ago at the hotel, she dr—”
She suddenly stopped, realizing she was about to spill too much.
Lorenzo narrowed his eyes. “What happened two years ago? What were you about to say?”
Krystal clenched her jaw, lips pressed tight. She didn’t answer, taking a deep breath as if holding something back.
She looked straight into his eyes, her voice cold and clipped. “Since you don’t believe me, I’ll send you the footage from the café. See it for yourself.”
Then she turned around and walked out, leaving them behind without a second glance.
As she strode down the hallway, she quickly shot a text to Darren: ‘Get me the footage of the hospital’s cafe. Now.’
Esther leaned closer to Lorenzo weakly and whispered, “I’m going back to my room, Lorenzo. I feel exhausted.”
Without waiting for a response, She hurried off, her heart racing, desperate to confirm that Jim had really deleted the footage.
Xander, who had been standing a few feet away, stepped up beside Lorenzo.
His eyes followed Krystal until she turned the corner and disappeared from view.
He ran a hand along his jaw and muttered, almost absentmindedly, “Mrs. Moretti used to be so gentle.” Letting out a heavy sigh, he shook his head.
“Now look at her… the ruthlessness of men really changed her.”
As soon as Krystal turned the corner and vanished from sight, Xander glanced at Lorenzo—only to freeze. A glare sharp enough to slice through steel was locked on him. He instantly shut his mouth.
Sliding hands into his pockets, Lorenzo turned to face him fully and asked, his tone low and sharp, “Why do you think she changed so much after leaving me? It hasn’t even been that long.”
Xander exhaled, carefully choosing his words.
“Mr. Moretti, Maybe… the divorce hit Mrs. harder than you think,” he murmured. “She used to take care of you like you were her everything. Then you dropped the word ‘divorce’ out of nowhere. That kind of blow can change someone.”